


The Scent of a Crisp, Clear Night

by colisahotnorthernmess



Category: British TV Celebrities RPF, Find It Fix It Flog It RPF
Genre: Autumn, Awkward Dates, First Dates, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Romance, Touching, Undressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 05:38:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16804672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colisahotnorthernmess/pseuds/colisahotnorthernmess
Summary: Henry takes Simon out on his motorbike one chilly November evening to take in some beautiful scenery after a long day of filming their show. Despite his better judgement, Henry can't shake the idea that it's a date they're on. Simon isn't quite sure how to take that at first, but the romance of the evening soon has him coming round to the idea. A sweet, fluffy Autumn tale.





	The Scent of a Crisp, Clear Night

Though, by now, night had definitely fallen upon the forest, it still somehow _looked_ like dusk; the sky was a deep indigo blue - the kind of blue you only saw out here in the middle of nowhere, where light pollution was near non-existent - it was clear and almost vibrant, violet purple in places, and littered with stars. It was stunning, and there was _no_ other word for it.

Henry certainly could not have picked a _better_ night to do this - his so-called 'date' with Simon, should he bravely dub it so. Alright, so he _joked_ with himself that it was a date. And, true, he _wished_ that it was. It had been a long day for the pair of them, filming in some Buckinghamshire barn, and they were completely exhausted by the end of it. He felt that he and Si deserved a bit of a treat. It was always rather special out in these woods, but there was something about this Autumn evening that just had the edge - went that extra mile. Which was funny, because it was only another _mile_ until they would reach their destination at the top of the hill.

With his co-host being put up in a nearby hotel for the night, as filming had just ran on for _so_ long, Henry was making the most of an opportunity to show Si around his some of his favourite spots while out and about on the bike. Considering how many times Si had mocked his love of motorbikes, both on and off screen, nothing had surprised him more than when he had agreed to it. Nothing had surprised _Simon_ more than the fact that he actually _liked_ being on the back of Cole's bike. Dare he admit it - and he hadn't even admitted it to _himself_ yet, never mind anyone else - he actually _liked_ having his arms around Henry.

He had spent most of the journey, as the motorbike had raced along the country roads and up into the bleak, empty wildernesses near to Henry's home, trying to convince himself that he would probably fall off of the back if he didn't hold on so tightly. He _wouldn't_ have fallen; it was just an excuse and he _knew_ it. And, besides which, he was in far greater danger of falling into something else. It didn't take _many_ brain cells to work out what that meant, even if _his_ grey matter felt like it was currently being extruded from beneath his helmet and blown out through his ears by the endless onslaught of chilling wind as they rode speedily into this cold November night.

His senses were overloaded by the incalculable beauty of the journey - Si hadn't done anything like this for a long time, and he did, somewhere in the back of his mind, question why Henry had asked him to come out and do something like this with _him_. It was really _something_ ; the wicked breeze burnt his nostrils as he breathed, and stung his cheeks; the trees were swaying furiously and shedding their amber-brown leaves, interspersed with chunks of night sky, star-ridden and with the occasional glimpse of a full moon; the scent of bonfires and the aroma of new tarmac, which smelt like it had just been laid on this stretch of road - _fantastic_.

He almost didn't want any of it to end but, when the bike rolled to a stop, he realised that things were soon to become even _more_ amazing.

"Oh my God, Henry - you were _so_ right," he exclaimed, removing his helmet and placing it on the wet grass.

"Didn't I tell you? Best view _ever_ ," came a big grin as he did the same. "I always look after you, Si."

"God, this is amazing. And I can't believe we're the only ones up here on a night like this. You'd expect there to be a few more here on such a clear night."

"I'm glad we're alone," Cole said, quietly, gazing adoringly at O'Brien but managing to avert his glance _just_ before his friend had found the chance to notice him staring. "I, erm, like a bit of peace and quiet," he added, trying to justify his words.

"Yeah," there was a shy whisper, "It's nice like this - just the two of us." For a second, Si could have sworn he felt the fabric of Henry's glove graze lightly against his bare hand, but the sensation quickly dissipated and the younger man suddenly felt unsure as to whether he had really felt anything at all.

Leaning into each other slightly, they both basked in the subtle warmth of one another's bodies, as they admired the view of the once-green but now dark county of Oxfordshire below and the sky and stars above, the tiny white dots still shimmering brightly in the atmosphere. Simon wrapped himself around his Find It, Fix It, Flog It co-presenter in an attempt to steady himself on the rear motorcycle seat, fingers scrunching the leather of his partner's biking jacket, indulging in the feel of the smooth, cool material. He wasn't sure now whether to keep his arm around him or _not_ ; he loosely dangled it behind Cole's back.

The pair of them sat silently for a few minutes, with their steady, tense breathing the only sound. It would have been cruel to have said that the silence between them was _uncomfortable_ , but neither of them truly knew _what_ to say at this moment in time; they may have known what they'd _wanted_ to say, but _saying_ it was another matter - and so, for now, they simply _didn't_. This sequence of events had been unquestionably _romantic_ , without doubt. But Si, certainly, felt mildly apprehensive of how this was making him perceive Henry. Si was starting to think that Henry was more beautiful than anything else around him, even in all of this splendour - and that was a very dangerous thought _indeed_ \- one which he had been consciously trying to avoid.

Henry sometimes _could_ be quiet, genuinely, when they were in the Land Rover together - and he seemed to be at ease right now in such a wordless atmosphere. Simon, on the other hand, liked to talk incessantly and this was just about becoming unbearable for him. He'd even resorted to asking his colleague about the tractor he'd taken as one his chosen items today - my god, he _must_ have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for a conversation starter. But he was saved, in the nick of time - because when Henry was just about to start babbling on about his beloved farm equipment, Si stopped him with something far more important to say.

"--Hey, look at that - a shooting star over there, mate."

"We should make some wishes or something," he suggested, with enthusiasm. As if there was anything else he could have wished for.

"Hmm... _yes_ ... I _wish_ that Henry Cole would stop boring me with his endless stories about motorbikes and petrol cans," Si laughed as he turned to the other man. "Now, what about you? Let me guess - I _wish_ that... Simon O'Brien would _stop_ trying to turn me into an upcycler and would take me to some _decent_ sheds for a sodding change. Sound about right?"

"Nah... as if I'd think that of you," he shook his head, smiling. "Anyway... My wish has already come true, mate."

"Hmm?"

"Glorious night out on the bike at this time of year - what could be _better_ than this?" he shrugged. And it turned out that, in the quiet, Henry had been anything _but_ silent in his own head - he'd been deliberating exactly what he was going to say to Si and had been plucking up the courage to do so since they had set off earlier in the day. "And then _you_ ... on the back of the bike, mi' old son," he then added, turning away and becoming a tad anxious at what he was about to say, "Agreeing to come out on a _date_ with me after all of this time."

"A _date_?" Simon spluttered in disbelief.

"Well, what would _you_ call it?"

"I.. er..." O'Brien began to stammer and couldn't quite get the words out, and he'd be damned if he even knew which words he'd use _anyway._ "An... adventure?" he laughed, nervously.

" _I'll_ say," came the response, breathily, seductively, as the other man drew nearer.

And - _now_ \- Cole was only bloody _kissing_ him, passionately, if albeit briefly. There was nonetheless still time for Simon to feel all of Henry's emotion spilling out through that kiss, with the chapped lips moving over his, the sharp hairs of his beard pressed right up to his chin, and a hungry and desperate tongue in his head. They parted slowly and Simon was, quite frankly, stunned by all of it.

"God... You meant it," he said, completely astonished. "You're really serious about this whole _date_ thing, aren't you?"

"Don't change the subject," Henry smirked. " _You_ didn't pull away from the kiss, Si."

"I suppose I _didn't_ ," came the reply, as flirtatious as you like.

It didn't take much encouragement for Cole to kiss O'Brien again. He had clambered from off of the motorbike and had now thrust himself up against Si, pinning him to the metal frame. Simon was still sat back against the seat and Henry used the height difference to his advantage when it came to taking _advantage_ of Simon - he towered over him and relished the dominance it allowed him to momentarily have, when both of their heights were roughly the same when standing. Si was always usually the confident one, the cheeky one - and now Henry was finding _his_ assertiveness. He pushed him backwards, strongly, against the two-wheeled vehicle as he kissed him with all of his might.

"Where do we go from here?" Simon had asked him - panting from the kiss and still half in the throes of ecstasy. He wasn't even sure _himself_ if he was referring to the course of the evening or the relationship itself, but he didn't mind which of the two questions Henry would answer. It turned out he would answer _both_.

"Your hotel," the words were blurted and, despite being sat, Si felt his legs begin to wobble.

And the word 'hotel' would go on to ring in Simon's ears as he was pushed down deep into the mattress. Henry was on top of him; his glasses were on the nightstand and his shirt was on the floor, screwed up into a tiny ball. He could feel his own shirt being rucked up his chest and his jeans being unceremoniously pushed down to his ankles. They couldn't get enough of one another. The motorcycle ride had been a thorough _joy_ , the view _spectacular_ and the stars _magical_ , but Simon couldn't help but think they had wasted so much time on the beauty of all of _those_ things, when they could have been focussing on the beauty of _one another._

Si was rapidly coming to the conclusion that he'd let Henry take him absolutely _anywhere_ on a date, so long as it always ended like _this_.

"Oh fuck, Henry," he groaned, both hands caressing the bare chest before him. "I hope you've locked that bike up... 'cause I want you here for a good while."


End file.
